Magic
by Oraclespeaker
Summary: Everyone's talking about the arrival of the famous magician, Marcus the Magnificent, in London. Legends, tall tales and mysteries shroud the handsome, young magician, and Phil finds himself intrigued by them, as well as Marcus' captivating good looks. He attends the first of seven of Marcus' magic shows, only to somehow wind up meeting the man himself. Phan AU
1. Chapter 1- Marcus the Magnificent

**AN-** Sorry for not a lotta content recently. School started so that's... just peachy. But I have an awesome new chaptered phanfic for you that I hope you enjoy! I got the idea by listening to "Magic" by the Mystery Skulls and I'm really excited to get this started. So here you go!

 **Magic**

 **Chapter 1: Marcus the Magnificent**

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

 _Ugh, this again..._

A hand brought itself down with a thunk on top of the irritating alarm clock, the owner of the hand reluctantly sitting up and sliding his hands down his pale face. The sun was just coming up, but soon it would be high in the sky, and by that time, the raven haired boy would have to be at school. How unfortunate.

"Phil! Breakfast is ready when you are." His mother's voice called from somewhere in the house.

Tossing the duvet off, shivering at the rush of cool air that greeted his skin without the protective barrier to keep it at bay, Phil slipped off the edge of his bed and changed into a galaxy shirt and black skinny jeans, though he didn't pay much attention to that. He rubbed his eyes and stumbled into the adjoining bathroom, straightening his hair and making sure he looked somewhat presentable for the third week of his first year at Uni.

Putting on his mismatched socks with some difficulty as he tried to make his way down the wooden staircase for breakfast, the boy wished slightly that he could be off in his dorm room already, but there'd been a bit of a delay in room assignments as of late. However, that feeling quickly faded as he entered the warmly lit dining room, the sweet smell of waffles wafting throughout the space. His eyes fell on a stack set out on a plate especially for him, his light haired mother smiling as her son took it all in.

"Wow, mum, this is fantastic!" Phil said, his eyes lighting up as he took a seat at the table and started digging in.

Phil's mom laughed a bit, "I'm glad you like it, Phil. Thought you'd appreciate the hot breakfast on a Monday of all days."

Phil groaned slightly, "Ugh, don't remind me."

"Goodness Phil, you already seem like you've been at Uni all year and just can't wait for it to end," Mrs. Lester said, shaking her head, but still smiling a bit.

"That's because I haven't had time to do _anything_ ," Phil complained, pausing his waffle scarfing for a moment, "It's just been work, work, work, study, study, study all the time and it's terrible."

"Sounds like you need a break," Phil's mom commented, taking a seat at the table and tossing a newspaper at Phil.

Phil plucked up the paper from the white table cloth, "What's this?"

"Look at the front cover," Phil's mom prodded, her smile never fading as Phil looked down at the parchment.

He was greeted with the sight of a rather handsome young man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a winning smile. He was dressed in a bit of an ornate, black suit with coattails, a white, ruffly dress shirt slightly visible at the top, a black bow tie strung around his neck. One of his white gloved hands held a small, black top hat, tipping it slightly at the reader, in this case Phil, and the other hand gestured to a brightly lit sign that read "Marcus the Magnificent's Magical Week of Entertainment".

Phil's eyebrows drew themselves towards each other slightly, his icy blue gaze tearing itself away from the nice looking boy on the page and back up to his mother, "What?"

"I dunno, I just thought you could go see this 'Marcus'. I've heard a lot about him, he's quite famous actually. Said to have the best magic shows around, and he's coming here for a week of magic shows, all at night for a few hours. Maybe you could go to one and take a break from your studies." Mrs. Lester said, standing up again as she realized that the water for her tea was ready.

Phil looked back down at the charming boy on the front page of the newspaper, "I dunno... magic? It's all fake anyway. Plus I don't really have the time..."

"Well, it was just a suggestion," Phil's mum said as she poured herself a cup of hot water and dangled a tea bag in it, "but I think it would be good for you."

Phil was silent a moment, and then pushed the newspaper a few centimeters away from him, taking up his waffle eating again, "I'll think about it."

-later-

"Hey there, Phil!" Phil heard a voice calling to him as he walked out of his first class at Uni. He smiled as he recognized that the voice to belonged to his friend, Chris.

He turned and saw the brown haired boy sauntering towards him, his other friend PJ following closely. PJ was holding some sort of piece of paper in his hand.

"Hey Chris, Peej," Phil greeted the both of them, pausing on the stone path that cut across the neatly trimmed campus lawn, the sun shining through the tree leaves above, "How are you guys?"

PJ sighed, "Tired."

"Seconded." Chris added.

"Same here," Phil said, folding his arms, "It's only the third week but it feels like its been months. I haven't done anything for myself since we all started here."

PJ's eyes lit up and he exchanged a glance with Chris before holding out the colorful piece of paper he had been holding, "Which is why Chris and I were thinking about going to this. Probably not all of the shows, but at least the first one. We were wondering if you wanted to come with us. It's not too expensive, and that Marcus guy is rather famous for having the best magic shows around."  
Phil laughed slightly as he looked down at the piece of paper, which was a colored version of the picture he'd seen in the paper, but with dates and times for all of the shows this week. The first one was that night.

"Okay, okay, clearly the universe is trying to tell me something, because my mum actually suggested I go to this as well," Phil thought out loud, returning the poster to PJ, "Fine. Let's go see how amazing this Magnificent Marcus really is."

"Wooo! Procrastinate! Procrastinate!" Chris chanted.

PJ rolled his eyes, "I bought tickets this morning. They're not the best seats, but they're seats at least. We can meet up outside the venue and I'll give you guys your tickets before we go in."

"Sounds good," Phil agreed, starting to walk off, "I'll see you guys there, then."

"Bye!"

"See ya!"

For the rest of the day, Phil was thinking about the magic show he was going to that night. It was hard not to. A lot of other people were talking about the week long magic shows being put on by Marcus the Magnificent, and how exciting it was that someone that famous was actually in their city. Girls were talking non-stop about how hot he was. Guys were debating how he pulled off some of his most baffling 'magic' tricks. Even a few of the professors admitted that they were going to at least one of the shows that week, and discussed the subject of magic shows for a bit with the students.

Phil had gone from being somewhat reluctant to go to being actually rather enthusiastic about the show. Yeah, maybe the magic wouldn't be real, but that didn't mean it would be any less amazing. He would still have to appreciate the ingenuity and incredible slight of hand Marcus possessed in order to be able to be a world renown magician. Also, he had to admit, Marcus was really, really good looking.

Finally, it was time to meet PJ and Chris at the show. He had taken the tube to a venue nearby where the magic shows would be taking place all week and walked the rest of the way. There was a slight chill in the night air, but it wasn't so cold that Phil had to wear a jacket. In fact, it was pretty nice out for a night in London.

Phil rounded a street corner and spotted the theater for the magic show almost immediately. Flashing lights and fancy billboard signs along with the giant hordes of people gave away the location quite easily. He wondered momentarily how he was ever going to find Chris and PJ in the mass of people waiting outside the door of the theater when he heard a shout from Chris.

"Yo Lester! Behind you!"

Phil spun around and found PJ and Chris walking up to him, eying the crowded space ahead of them excitedly.

"Here you go," PJ handed Phil his ticket, and then Chris his, "you guys ready to dive into a crowd the size of half of London's population to get to our seats?"

"Hell yeah!" Chris exclaimed, already on his way towards the amorphous blob of people, "Let's go see some magic!"

-backstage-

 _Tick, tock._

Time; people always spoke of how it passed so quickly. The man waiting behind the curtains disagreed. Time was long. It was forever and eternal, crawling along at a snail's pace. Nothing ever sped it up. Not even when he was having fun. Not even when he was performing his shows.

The man stood up from his plush chair, placing his pocket watch back in his suit pocket. He tugged at his white gloves. He straightened his dark brown hair, brushing his fringe out of his matching dark brown eyes.

He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked so young, but he felt so, so old. That was what he liked about his magic shows. They made him feel the age his face portrayed him to be again.

 _Tick, tock._

It was just about that time. The formally clothed figure quietly picked up his small, black top hat from off the table in front of him and placed it off center on top of his head. He grinned, somewhat sadly at his reflection.

Show time.


	2. Chapter 2- Welcome to the Show!

**AN:** Woooo chapter two! I'm having so much fun writing this fic you guys, and I'm glad that those of you who are reading it are liking it already! Sorry for the big delay! School has started and it's been a little difficult to find the time to write, but I will try to get another part out later this week. Thanks for the reviews, faves and follows! More chapters and phan to come~

 **Magic**

 **Chapter 2: Welcome to the Show!**

It was dark in the theater aside from the stage lights that were still rather dim, so Phil, Chris and PJ had a difficult time getting to their seats, bumping into previously invisible people and tripping over what seemed like thin air. Luckily, however, their seats weren't very far from the entrance, their row being about four rows from the back wall. The stage seemed disappointingly far away and small from the velvety seats which were currently occupied by the excited university boys, but that fact did barely anything in the way of deterring their excitement for the upcoming performance.

The air was warm and a tad stuffy, chatter loud and constant. Fortunately, the people sitting in front of the boys weren't very tall, however the same could not be said for the people sat behind them.

Soon, there were less people hurrying about to get to their seats, but the chatter was still as lively and domineering as ever. Phil was trying to get Chris to pass the popcorn he had bought earlier, but even though he was sat just on the other side of PJ, the pandemonium made it impossible to communicate, so Phil eventually gave up. The good news was that Phil wasn't given much time to reflect on his unfortunate state of not eating popcorn, as the far away stage suddenly lit up with the concentrated beam of a powerful spotlight off to the side.

In a puff of sparkly, colorful smoke, with a crescendo of cheers from the crowd, the even more handsome in person Marcus the Magnificent appeared, adorning the same tasteful attire as he was pictured in on his posters and in the newspaper. Phil, or anyone in the audience for that matter, couldn't keep his eyes off the dazzling magician.

"Hello there, London, and welcome to the show!" Marcus flashed a smile that seemed to light up the theater, when in actuality, he had thrown his white gloved hands in the air and a bright flash had illuminated the room, the word 'Magic!' appearing out of thin air.

As the crowd 'ooo'd and 'aaaah'd, Marcus plucked his top hat from off of his chocolatey brown hair and held it over his heart, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marcus the Magnificent, your host for tonight's Magic Show, and all of the other shows for this entire week!"

The audience roared as Marcus took a bow, placing his hat back on his head while still bowing. He looked back up at the audience, his charming appearance eliciting high pitched squeals from the fangirls.

"Tonight's theme is Transfiguration! Prepare to have your mind melted into a malleable jelly as I test the reality of what you see in front of your very eyes!" Marcus linked his hands together and flexed his fingers. The crowd soared with applause, Phil's own rhythm joining in with that of the audience.

This Marcus character sure had quite a bit of charisma. Phil could see why he was a particularly popular magician, and he was eager to see what kinds of things Marcus could 'transfigure'.

"For my first trick, something light and modest," Marcus gestured towards the side of the stage, a table floating seemingly on it's own towards the well-dressed lad. The audience rippled with excitement as the table slowed to a halt just next to the magician, and he plucked something invisible to Phil and the rest of the crowd off of the table.

"This, my friends, is a hair..." the gloved hands began working their magic, the hair falling into place in Marcus' left hand, his right hand creating a spherical cage around the hair, the two hands rotating around each other until suddenly, Marcus was holding some sort of a small animal, "... a mouse hair."

There was an uproar of applause and a few squeaks and shrieks from a few of the girls and one or two guys.

Marcus took notice of the shrieks, and looked up at the audience from the quivering ball of fur, "What's the matter ladies and gents? Chester here won't bite. But perhaps you'd prefer something a little less rodent-like? Say, I dunno..." Marcus cupped the mouse named Chester in his hands again and repeated the rotating motions, this time a bigger, ginger colored animal unfurling from his grasp, "... a kitty cat?"

Loud gasps escaped the lips of the awestruck audience members, followed by thunderous applause. Phil's mind was bending and twisting as he tried to figure out how Marcus was changing the animal in his hand from mouse to cat to chihuahua to pigeon to chinchilla and on and on and on. He had to be keeping a zoo up in his sleeves to be pulling this off. It was crazy. However Marcus was managing it, he was really damn good at it.

"This guy's amazing!" Chris exclaimed, trying to be heard over the applause as Marcus moved on to his next trick in which he was splashing buckets of water on five canvases, the water somehow morphing the blank material into famous paintings, famous paintings into photographs and photographs into moving short films.

Phil nodded in agreement, "I can't figure out how he's doing it!"

"Maybe he really is magic, eh?" PJ cracked a smile and elbowed Phil in the arm.

Phil rolled his eyes and smiled, "Right, and I'm the Queen of England."

Marcus' voice cut through their conversation, "Now comes the part of the show where I pick the first audience member who will come up on stage and be a part of one of my magic acts. Hmmm, let's see, who should I go with?"  
Gloved hands stroked bare chin as Marcus paced along the stage, looking out at the audience in amusement as they screamed his name and jumped up in down in their seats. Phil, Chris and PJ all had a good laugh at the other audience members. Crazy people...

They were in the middle of admiring the hilariousness of a girl who was practically in tears as Marcus passed her, when suddenly Phil felt a pair of eyes bearing into him. He looked around for a bit, until he noticed Marcu's chocolatey brown eyes fastened on him. Or, he thought it was him. Was it? He didn't really know. It was kind of hard to tell when you're surrounding by a crap load of other people.

Marcus' hand slowly lowered from his chin, and he stopped pacing, turning to look what appeared to be directly at Phil. Phil started to feel a little uncomfortable, but sort of strangely excited. Was he looking at him? And if he was, why was he looking at him like _that_? It was almost like fascination, but something more than that.

Before Phil could finish his thought however, Marcus spoke up again, "You there, towards the back with the black hair and pretty blue eyes? Yes, you with the galaxy jacket?"

Phil gulped slightly. Marcus was definitely looking at him.

"Come on up here!" Marcus grinned widely, gesturing towards his stage of magical peculiarities.

It took a moment to register what was going on, and another moment to respond to PJ and Chris practically shoving him down the row of seats towards the aisle. When Phil finally got his bearings, he started down the aisle, shaking slightly as the crowd applauded their fellow audience member's lucky journey to where the magnificently handsome magician was waiting for him.

"Let me help you, those steps are notorious for making people, especially me, trip." Marcus smiled at Phil as Phil approached the steps to the top of the stage. A white, gloved hand reached down towards him, and he gladly took it, blushing slightly at the contact with the gorgeous and talented stranger. He ascended the steps and the applause died down as Marcus let go of Phil's hand all too soon and Marcus appeared to be needing to speak again.

"Well, thank you for the warm welcome for our fine friend here," Marcus said, patting Phil on the shoulder, "Now tell us, what is your name?"  
"Uh, er, Phil. Phil Lester." Phil replied, blinking in the overwhelmingly bright light of the spotlights.

"Well hello, Phil!" Marcus gestured at the audience to applaud, and they did, Phil catching the pitch of Chris and PJ's voices amongst the clapping and whistling and cheering. Phil smiled shyly at the crowd and waved a bit. Marcus looked over at him, smiling at his shyness.

"No need to be so nervous, Phil," Marcus encouraged as the cheering died down, "all you have to do for this trick is dance."

The color drained from Phil's face, "Oh God, I'm a terrible dancer..."

The audience chuckled at Phil's comment, but Marcus just grinned, "Not with me dancing with you! This is a partner dance. It will be fun, right?"

Some more laughter from the audience. Phil smiled a bit, but before he had a chance to respond, one of Marcus' hands was on his waist and the other took his left hand in his right hand. Phil's cheeks started to burn, the laughter of the audience at the odd spectacle before them dying out in his ears, the only thing that mattered taking the form of Marcus' dark, warm eyes, which were staring at him intently. Marcus wore a small, playful smirk on his pink lips, his eyes giving Phil a barely noticeable once over. Phil blushed even more.

"You all right?" Marcus asked quietly below the chatter of the crowd, "You're red as a tomato."

"S-sorry, I, uh, just-"

"Do you want to return to your seat? I'm sorry if I dragged you into an uncomfortable situation."

"N-no, no, it's fine. It's just, I didn't think I'd be dancing with someone as amazing and beautiful as you when I stepped foot outside my house today."

Oops. Phil didn't mean to blab that out, but there it was, hanging in the air, suspended in between him and the magician.

A wide grin replaced Marcus' smirk, and he tugged Phil closer so that their chests and foreheads were touching, "Oh really? Why thank you, I'm flattered. You're not so bad yourself."

Phil was crimson at this point, and the crowd was roaring in amusement, or at least that's how it was for a moment. It soon turned into surprised gasps and cheers, but Phil barely took notice. He was too focused on the proximity of his body to Marcus', and the compliment he had given him.

Just a compliment? C'mon Phillip, don't be dense. That was nothing less than a _flirtatious_ compliment.

Marcus continued to dance with Phil for a short while longer, but soon, to the dismay of them both, drew back from Phil and spun him as the audience 'ooo'd and 'ahhhh'd again. Phil didn't understand why until he looked at what he was wearing.

"I thought it only fitting that Phil here be wearing something equally as formal as I am. I mean, we did share a dance. What do you think?" Marcus gestured towards Phil, who was now wearing a white tuxedo with a black vest and bow tie that were decorated with galaxy colors and stars. The crowd gave an enthusiastic response, Marcus making eye contact with Phil again.

"And remember! All audience participants get to meet with me personally backstage after the performance, and get free passes to the rest of this week's magic shows!"

Phil's mouth hung open slightly as Marcus shook his hand and helped him down the stairs again.

"See you backstage," Marcus said quietly to Phil, and with a wink returned to the rest of his performance.

Slightly dazed, heart pounding, Phil made his way back up the aisle to his seat, still wearing the tuxedo Marcus somehow 'magically' transformed his clothes into.

PJ and Chris smiled at Phil as he sat down in his previous seat.

"Dude that was so cool! You didn't even notice the change, did you? Do you know how he did it? Did he tell you?" PJ fired all of these questions at Phil, but Chris stepped in before Phil could wrap his mind around what was happening.

"Never mind that! Did you see Phil's face? He is completely smitten with that magical boy." Chris laughed.

PJ grinned at the comment, but Phil punched both of them in the arms, "Shut up you idiots. I mean yeah, Marcus is nice looking. Okay, really nice looking, but I was literally up there for less than five minutes. I doubt you can completely fall for someone that fast."

Chris leaned back in his seat, "Yeah, well, you've got a whole week of magic for that to happen. You'll be a fangirl before you know it."  
Phil grumbled a bit but decided to just ignore Chris. What did Chris know? I mean, yeah Marcus made him as red as a strawberry, but come on. He didn't love him. He barely knew him. Besides, he probably has someone already, knowing how rich, famous and good looking he is. Yep. He would just wait till the end of the show, talk with Marcus for a bit, and then say goodbye to him forever. Of course, he'd still be coming to the other shows though. Strictly for the magic though.

And definitely not for the captivating brown eyes that kept catching his gaze.


	3. Chapter 3- It's a Date!

**AN:** Once again, thank ya'll for the faves, follows and reviews! Sorry I didn't get to respond to your question before, Guest who asked me about "The Truth About the Harry Querbert Affair" in the last AN! But my answer to your question is no, I actually haven't read it before. Such coincidence :O Haha, well anyway, I'll let you all get on with the story. It's only just starting to get interesting after all!

 **Magic**

 **Chapter 3: It's a Date**

A very tall university student made his way towards the edge of the curtains that shielded the backstage rooms from the audience. He walked awkwardly, seeming slightly tense as he traversed the roped off pathway towards the gargantuan velvet blankets, only a handful of other people joining him. He had been looking forward to but also been slightly hesitant about this meet up with Marcus, and he didn't particularly know why that was. The boy casually waved it off as the anxiety people get when they meet a celebrity.

Yeah...

He brushed the midnight black fringe out of his crystalline blue eyes, thinking about nothing but the magician. His transfiguration themed show had been amazing. Marcus had plucked a couple other volunteers from the audience after Phil, who were currently walking with him backstage. One was a young girl who was with her mother. Phil grinned slightly to himself as he remembered how he had at first handed the girl a gift filled with vegetables, but after placing a cloth over it, it had magically changed into candy floss. The girl's face positively radiated after that.

Another was a bit of an older man who had at first doubted Marcus' power, so when Marcus asked him to hold onto a venomous cobra for him, he naturally refused. After a little bit of coaxing, the man finally relented, and to his astonishment, when Marcus handed him the cobra, it turned into a stack of chocolate coins. The magician had then plucked one of the coins from the stack and magically turned it into an actual coin. Not gold, but still quite impressive.

And finally, he had chosen from the massive group of fangirls a red-headed teen whom he asked to jump off of a tall bleacher onto a concrete block. She was very nervous at first, but he assured her that he would make sure she would not be harmed. So, she jumped, and as she landed, the cinder block became bouncy and caught her fall, acting sort of like a bouncy castle. The girl, and the audience, let out a sigh of relief as well as thunderous applause.

All of these people were with Phil now, just about to pass beyond the wall of red in front of them, when Marcus suddenly burst through the curtains just in front of them with his trademark flamboyant charisma.

"Hello my dearest friends! Come in, come in. I've been waiting to greet all of you personally." Marcus grinned at them. Phil noticed something he hadn't before as the magician continued to beam at them.

He had the most adorable dimples.

Phil, shut up, oh my God. You really are going to turn into a fangirl at this rate. Don't prove Chris right or you'll never hear the end of it.

The volunteers all shuffled backstage together, and once back there, Phil couldn't help but let a small gasp escape his lips. Backstage was an old fashioned room decorated with fancy rugs, a grandfather clock, and even a crystal chandelier. However, some of the items and themes in the room seemed a bit out of place. There was a rather modern looking black leather sofa in the corner with a closed laptop resting on the cushions. There were mounted swords and shields on the walls, as well as a string of polaroids that appeared to be of Marcus and a couple other people at the beach somewhere. Fairy lights decorated a desk with a large mirror hanging on the wall in front of it, and there were two potted plants, one small bonsai on a sleek black coffee table and the other a large pot of several stocks of bamboo in the corner next to the sofa.

It was an oddly mismatched room, but Phil kind of liked the feel of it. It was different and cozy, and it had sort of a dreamy feel to it.

"Like it?" Marcus whispered as he passed Phil to walk further into the room, turning slightly so that he could look back at him.

Phil nodded, still scanning the room for more interesting items.

"Wow! I can't believe I'm in Marcus the Magnificent's prep room! Can I please get your autograph? I don't have paper, but I have this shirt! Can you sign it? Like, right at my collarbone?" The red-headed fangirl squeaked in excitement.

Probably just with imagined hesitation, Marcus turned away from Phil and smiled at the girl, taking out a black Sharpie from... hey, where did he get that Sharpie?

"Of course! Elizabeth, right?" Marcus beamed as he bent over slightly to sign the girl's shirt.

Elizabeth nodded, her face turning bright red, "You remembered!"

"Of course. I use my magic to remember everyone's names." Marcus said, winking at the girl as he finished signing her pale blue shirt.

"Oh really? Then do you remember mine?" The older male volunteer challenged playfully.

Marcus pretended to struggle, "Oh, I dunno. It couldn't possibly be Michael."

Michael chuckled as he shook Marcus' hand with gusto, "You are fantastic, sir! I don't know how you pull of some of your tricks. That must take some skill."

"It's rather easy, actually," Marcus grinned as he let go of Michael's hand and looked down at the little girl, "For instance, watch this Danielle."

Marcus got down on his knees so Danielle could see better and pressed his hands together, then slowly opened them like a book, a few colorful butterflies flitting past the small, dark haired girl.

Danielle couldn't have smiled any wider, "I love you, Marcus."

The dark haired girl hugged him tightly in her arms, Marcus hugging her back, "I love you too. You're a good kid."

He looked up at the mother with his eyes, not breaking the embrace, "You raised her well."

"Why, thank you." The mother smiled, flattered.

The scene warmed Phil's heart. It was so cute to see Marcus hugging Danielle, as well as him being patient with the fangirls and the skeptics alike. He was never rude to them, just embraced them for who they were. Phil liked that.

After parting with the girl, Marcus pulled out five sparkly, magenta tickets, "These are your seven day passes. Make sure not to lose them, but if you do, don't worry. You'll get it back, I promise."

He handed the tickets to everyone, ending with handing one to Phil. He stayed in front of him, and Phil's nervousness returned as Marcus' warm brown eyes threatened to engulf him. Phil remembered the dance and the flirtatious exchange from earlier and he could feel his face burning.

"Phil, yeah? May I have a word alone?" Marcus said to him, but Phil was sure he was directing that at everyone else as well.

The other volunteers said their goodbyes after a few more minutes of chatting, and then it was just Phil and Marcus in his wondrously strange dressing room.

The magician unexpectedly took a seat on the carpeted floor, looking up at Phil, "Would you prefer a chair?"

"N-no, uh, it's fine." Phil said, joining Marcus on the floor. The carpet was surprisingly lush and comfortable.

Marcus just sort of stared at Phil for a bit, making Phil slightly uncomfortable, until a smile slowly creeped onto Marcus' face, "Have you noticed yet?"

Phil blinked, "Sorry?"

"Your vest and bow tie."

"Well, yeah..."

"No, I mean really. Have you noticed it moving yet?"

"What?"

Phil immediately flicked his gaze down towards the vest he was wearing, the pretty nebula colors all blending together and swirling around and... wait, swirling around?

Phil had to stare at it a moment longer to finally understand what was going on, and even then he didn't understand it. The clouds of space dust and the little stars were rotating and swirling and blinking and turning. Had they been doing that the whole time?

"Pretty amazing, yeah?" Marcus said, sounding surprisingly doubtful.

Phil looked up at him. Marcus seemed slightly nervous, and he bit his lower lip slightly.

Sexy.

Dammit Phil.

"Y-yeah. It really is." Phil said convincingly, staring down at his vest again to watch the peculiar spectacle.

Marcus let out a small sigh of relief, "Great!"

"S-so, uh, Marcus..." Phil started, looking up at the magician again, who now somehow had a glass of Ribena in his hand, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, right! Sorry, I got distracted by your lovely eyes," Marcus said, placing the Ribena glass on the floor and the compliment eliciting a fierce face burn from Phil, "I have your clothes that you were wearing before I transformed them."

A pair of skinny jeans and a T-shirt was tossed at Phil suddenly, and he just barely caught them, totally taken-aback, "H-how...?"

"Best not to ask," Marcus said, taking his place on the floor again with the Ribena at his lips, "magic can be rather difficult to follow. Not that you would have any trouble, I'm sure. You seem like a smart Uni lad."

"H-how did you kno-"

"Would you like to meet me for a drink tomorrow after the show?"

"-w I go- wait, hold... did you- am I- I mean-"

Marcus laughed a bit, "It's a simple yes or no, Philly."

"Wha- I- Philly? Really?"

A faint tint of pink decorated Marcus' cheeks and he hastily gulped down some Ribena, "Sorry. Habit of mine, making nicknames for people. So, what do you say, Bear? Please answer soon, because as much as I'd like to spend the whole night with you, I do have a show to prepare for."

"B- oh, uh, yes, yeah. Of course I'd love to go with you-"

"Splendid! Just meet me by the curtains and I'll let you in after the last of the volunteers leave. Then, we will have a night on the town, just you and me," Marcus beamed at Phil, standing up suddenly, "It's a date!"

At this notion, Phil blushed even more. Did he mean a date date? Or just a date like with a friend or something? Oh God what was happening...

Marcus took Phil's hand and helped him up from the floor, suddenly frowning and taking Phil's bowtie in both hands, standing a bit closer than needed to be doing what he was doing.

"Sorry, it's been driving me nuts." Marcus said, finishing straightening the tie and shaking Phil's hand, "Well, good day to you, Lester. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"R-right, see you..." Phil said, smiling as he left the bizarre room and the eccentric magician behind him.

What... just happened? Phil had talked to Marcus... Marcus flirted with Phil... asked him on a... date?

This was crazy. Phil had only just met Marcus. Marcus was famous, and too good not to have someone. Maybe Phil was just getting ahead of himself. Phil nodded at the notion. Marcus probably meant like a friendship date. Not a romantic one. Yeah, that's it. That's what he meant.

-Backstage-

Why.

Why was he so stupid.

Why did he insist on doing this.

Not once.

Not twice.

But EVERY DAMN TIME.

 _SMASH!_

He broke the mirror.

Great.

Seven years of bad luck.

Seven.

Long.

Years.

Oh well.

He was doomed to have bad luck anyway.

The shaking magician glared at his reflection, the tears streaming down his pale cheeks, the shattered mirror distorting his already contorted face into fragmented pieces. He clenched his white gloved hands into fists on the wooden desk.

He was such a fool.

He couldn't just go around asking people he found attractive on dates.

It would only end in an eternal sadness that gripped his soul and tore his heart to pieces.

It happened every time, and would continue to happen every time.

Then why? Why would he allow himself to fall for the handsome Uni student who had walked out of his room just an hour before? Why would he do that when he knew that it would only hurt both Phil and himself? That they could never be happy?

The trembling figure slumped into a cushioned arm-chair, pressing his face into his hands and sobbed violently by himself.

Always by himself.

Always alone.


	4. Chapter 4- Howell in the Night

**AN:** Wooo day two, chapter four! How exciting! Haha thank you all again for the faves, follows and reviews! I think this story is coming along pretty well, and I'm glad you guys agree. Hope the rest of the fic lives up to your expectations. Enjoy~

 **Magic**

 **Chapter 4: Howell in the Night**

Everyone in his Uni classes the next day grilled Phil on his experience dancing with and meeting Marcus. Phil told them everything rather sheepishly, only leaving out the flirting and date he had planned with Marcus later that day. All of them were jealous, especially the fangirls, though most simply felt that way because Phil had gotten a free seven day pass. Some wanted to buy it from him, offering more pounds than Phil lived off of, but he refused to sell it. No way was Phil giving up the ticket Marcus himself gave him just the night before.

Chris and PJ were planning to try and go with Phil to two more shows, but the tickets were expensive, and some of the days were already sold out. That day's show already was, so Phil was going to have to go it alone. Not that he really minded. It would be easier to slip away with Marcus after the show anyway without those two busy bodies around.

"How was your meet n' greet with Marcus anyway? Was he dreamy?" Chris teased, poking Phil in the side while the three friends sat under a large tree in the grass. The fading afternoon light signaled the coming of dusk, which would be followed by Phil making his way to the theater yet again.

Phil looked down at the swirling space bow tie Marcus had given him the night before, "Shut it, Chris."

"Aw come on Chris, can't you see he's blushing? Let him alone." PJ said, smiling.

Chris threw his hands up in the air, "Fine, fine. Don't mind me, I'm just gonna go over here and debate how much longer Phil can avoid throwing himself at the perfect guy handed to him on a silver platter-"

"Chris! Cut it out!"

"Never."

-later, backstage-

The magician in the ornate suit stared at the once shattered mirror, repaired and smooth again. He was trying to smile, but his lips wouldn't obey him.

He gripped the edges of the wooden desk tighter. Slowly, a smile forced its way onto his face.

Then, the date crossed his mind again, and for a split second, the smile was genuine.

And then any hints of happiness had left his features.

That does it. He'd need some magic tonight, simply to stay smiling. How pathetic.

He picked up his small, black top hat from off the desk like he had done many times before, and placed it on top of his head, slightly off center.

With the hat came a smile. But not a real one, of course.

A slow walk to the curtains.

He could see the crowd through the crack in it.

Show time.

-In the audience-

With the seven day pass given to him by Marcus, Phil had gotten a front row seat with the other three participants from the night before. They had been talking animatedly with one another, excited about what the night's show would bring, when sparkly smoke announced Marcus' appearance on the stage.

Phil caught sight of his dazzling smile, as bright and attractive as ever as he bowed and introduced himself, "Welcome friends, to night two of my seven day show! I am Marcus the Magnificent, your host and fantastical magician for this evening."

'Magic' flared up in bright letters at the top of the theater as Marcus threw his hands up in the air, "Tonight's theme is 'Houdini-esque'! Everything you will see from here on out will be breath-taking and I can assure you, you will be on the edge of your seat the whole time as I attempt to escape some of the most impossible and deadly traps known to man."

As the audience's applause soared, Phil clapping half-consciously, the Uni student felt slightly nervous. Yeah, Marcus knew what he was doing and would most likely be just fine, but that didn't keep Phil from having a slight bit of apprehension at the thought of Marcus attempting these stunts.

"I will be attempting five scenarios, four of which will require an assistant from the audience, and one requires two. So, let's get started with the first and easiest one."

A strange drawer-desk rolled onto the stage just behind Marcus, who opened the drawer and pulled out a straight jacket, a face mask, and ankle cuffs.

He picked someone from the audience to help him strap himself into the straight jacket, fasten the face mask and clamp the ankle cuffs. The person chosen, a teenage boy, was given the opportunity to sit on the stage and watch Marcus escape.

Everybody watched with interest as slowly, but not too slowly, the straps of the straight jacket began to loosen and come undone, allowing enough room for Marcus to reach up and release the face mask, and somehow unlock the ankle cuffs even though the volunteer still had the key.

Marcus took a bow, free of all previous restraints. The crowd went wild.

Phil was impressed. Plus, it seemed as though Marcus wasn't in all that much danger. At least, for now.

The magician went on to have a volunteer drill a metal shell into the floor of the stage with Marcus underneath it. The strong looking volunteer woman was then instructed to take a few sharpened blades and plunge them into the slits of the shell. He assured her that we would be perfectly fine. After the blades were inserted, Marcus reentered the stage from the furthest end of the stage, smiling triumphantly.

The woman and the crowd applauded like crazy.

Phil was enjoying himself, despite the small amount of nervousness coursing through his veins.

Next, a volunteer who was the father of a young boy who came onto the stage with him, was instructed to strap Marcus into a straight jacket, encase him in a bag the size of an adult male, and seal him inside a fragile coffin. Then, the volunteer and another woman he picked from the audience hoisted the coffin up into the air with a thick rope. A pit in the stage opened up underneath the coffin that was filled with spikes. A saw connected to a timer was slowly slicing through the rope holding the coffin suspended.

The theater watched with bated breath. Phil clenched the arms of the seat he was sat in. This was a little more scary than the past two tricks.

Suddenly, the rope snapped, and with terrified gasps from the audience, the coffin plunged into the pit, the sound of thin wood smashing against metal ringing through the quiet area.

Everyone was silent, fearful for their favorite magician.

However, they didn't have to be. Marcus strolled on stage from one of the side entrances.

"Whew, that was a close one! But not as close as my next escape!" Marcus said, smiling mischievously.

That's when they brought in the shark tank.

A volunteer fastened a ball and chain to Marcus' ankle after he had changed to more suitable swimming clothes- a pair of black swimming shorts that caused a massive heart attack in the fangirl section of the theater. Phil blushed at the sight, and he could've sworn that Marcus tossed a wink his way.

Marcus dropped himself into the tank, the sharks swirling around him. Phil's breath caught in his throat.

Stop worrying so much, Phil. He'll be fine, he'll be fine...

Marcus seemed to be jostled around by the sharks a bit, making it difficult for him to be completing his escape. Phil wondered with fired nerves how much longer Marcus could hold his breath.

Then, a bit of red started to stain the water. The audience began screaming. Marcus had been bitten!

The blood swirled and swirled, as did the sharks and the bubbles. It was very hard to see Marcus now, and everyone was on edge. People in the back were standing, and the volunteer standing next to the tank was starting to freak out.

Just then, however, Marcus jogged onto the stage, still dripping wet, but no signs of harm anywhere on his body.

He leaned against the tank with one arm, eyes glittering, "Well, you all didn't think a bunch of brutish sharks ripped me to pieces, did you?"

The audience let out relieved laughs as Marcus magically dried himself and quickly changed back into his fancy suit.

"Time for the final act of the day! For those of you who are claustrophobic, you may not want to watch. Behold!" Marcus flaunted a giant box that was being rolled onto the stage.

"This, my friends, is a Magic Shrinking Box, but not only does it shrink, it also is strong enough squash an elephant into a brick sized block. If I cannot escape it, I will surely be crushed. However, to make things more interesting, I have decided to suspend it above a pit of flames!"

Phil clutched his heart. Marcus' escapes have been nothing short of incredible, but at this rate, Phil was going to have a heart attack. It was scary as hell to watch Marcus do these things.

Why was he so protective of Marcus...?

Probably... Probably just because he knows him a bit more personally than the average person. Or even more probable, Phil was just a naturally caring person. Yeah...

The last volunteer sealed Marcus in the box, and set the pit underneath it on fire. Everyone watched nervously as the box shrunk smaller and smaller, until it was at the point where it would crush someone. What looked like blood began to pour from the cracks, eliciting sparks from the fire below, but to everyone's relief, especially Phil's, Marcus slid down from the top of the chain holding the now fist sized box above the fire.

To everyone's surprise, Marcus lept from the chain to the ground away from the pit, landing gracefully on his feet. The applause was thunderous as Marcus took his final bow of the night and reminded audience participants to meet him backstage.

-a little later-

"All right, that was the last of the participants. We can go now Phi-"

Suddenly, the magician felt a strong, warm embrace envelope him in a tight hug. The man hugging him was shaking slightly.

"Phil? Are you okay?" Marcus asked, concerned.

"I-I, um, I was just a little freaked out earlier. Your performance was amazing, it's just... it was a little scary. I was scared for you a bit..." Phil mumbled into Marcus' shoulder.

Marcus smiled gently, hugging Phil back, "Don't worry, Phil. I'm safe. I've always been safe. My magic makes sure of that."

Phil laughed slightly at the last comment, drawing back from the hug, smiling a bit.

"It's fine, I promise. None of my acts are dangerous, though they may seem that way to the audience," Marcus said, lifting Phil's chin so that he could look him in the eyes, "See, love? I'm fine."

 _Love..._

"I know...Bear..." Phil smirked a bit.

Marcus grinned, "Silly. That's my nickname for you."

"I think Bear suits you better than it suits me." Phil reasoned, suddenly taking notice that Marcus was in some casual, black skinny jeans and a dark gray hoodie. He looked... really nice...

Phil guessed he had been staring at Marcus too long, since a faint blush crept onto Marcus' face, "What? I'm not formal all the time, you know."

"Oh, er, of course. It's just... you look... nice..." Phil barely whispered the word 'nice'. Marcus' face lit up with a soft glow of a smile.

"You too..."

They kind of stood there, staring at each other, not really making any advances at all. That is, until Marcus decided to break the silence.

"Ahem, er, anyway, we should go get those drinks. Starbucks? On me. Let's go!" Marcus shouted, full of energy as he hastily grabbed Phil's wrist and dragged him out of the theater and into the crisp London air.

He didn't slow down, so Phil sped up to match Marcus. He hated running, but it didn't seem that bad with Marcus. The city lights were dancing, the moon was shining brightly, and the leaves swirled in the wave-like wind, ruffling both of the men's fringes. Both of them didn't mind all that much, because somehow, they'd ended up holding hands.

-later-

"Phil, you are ridiculous!" Marcus laughed as he finished his hot chocolate, Phil finishing up his as well.

Phil joined in the laughter, "Look, all I'm saying is that if everyone had a dragon, we could have such a better and more amazing world than we do now. Imagine having a dragon as a pet. Instead of taking the Tube everywhere, you could just fly. So much more convenient. Though I guess that if everyone had a dragon, there'd probably be air traffic. And then they'd have to make sky roads... then it would be land travel that would be more desirable then."

Marcus just shook his head, smiling, "Where do you get this stuff?"

"A little place called my brain." Phil grinned.

"Wow, no way," Marcus said sarcastically, "Brains can be used for creativity?! I never knew!"

"You asked!"

The both descended into laughter. The Starbucks they were at was empty except for a table of three girls in one corner, and it was cozy and warm. They were both sat opposite each other in a two person booth, the two feeling only slightly drowsy. They'd been talking for over an hour, and they realized how much they had in common. Phil still could not believe that he was talking to Marcus the Magnificent. It seemed like such a foreign concept to him that he would be friends with an actual celebrity.

Friends...

"Earth to Phil! What are you thinking so intently about?" Marcus asked, waving a hand in front of Phil's face.

Phil jumped a bit, pulling himself from his chain of thought, "Oh, uh, sorry. I was just... thinking how crazy it is that I'm friends with Marcus the Magnificent. Kind of crazy."

"Marcus... that name is fake you know?" Not-Marcus said, pushing aside his empty cup, "I'm only Marcus when I'm on stage. Would you like to know my real name, Phil Lester?"

"Oh, if it's okay with you."

"You seem pretty trustworthy, Phil," the magician's eyes sparkled, and he leaned closer to Phil, causing Phil's heart to flutter slightly, and he whispered extremely quietly, "My real name is Daniel Howell. Or just Dan for short."

"Dan? I like it. Suits you better than Marcus." Phil remarked, blushing slightly at how close his face was to Dan's.

Dan smiled, "Really? You think so?"

"Yep!"

Dan just smiled on and stared at Phil like he had in the theater before. The tension between them seemed to run electricity through the air around them. Yet, neither did anything, just like before.

Dan and Phil, huh? It had a better ring to it than Marcus and Phil.

"So, Dan?"

"Yes?"

"Do you, um, would you like to go out for a late dinner then, tomorrow?"

What. Was. Phil. SAYING?

"I would love to!"

Oh NO Why PhIl Oh My God-

"I best be on my way, though. It's rather late, and I have tomorrow's show to prepare for." Dan said, standing up and sliding out of the booth.

Phil followed suit, "Oh, uh right, of course, um, I'll see you tomorrow the-"

As fast as lightning, Phil felt Dan's warm lips on his cool cheek, and then, they were gone again as he rushed a "GoodbyePhilthedrinkswereniceseeyoutomorrow!"and disappeared into the London night.

Phil stood there, dumbfounded for a second, gently touching the place Dan had kissed him a moment before.

Oh dear.

Chris was very, _very_ right.


End file.
